My Life, My Data, #MyTomorrow
Chris Sizemore
Commissioning Editor, Digital, Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow(’s World) starts today.
Personal data is one of the most important issues we’re all grappling with these days, but it can all feel so confusing and abstract that we tend to dismiss it with a mixture of π, π€―, ¯\_(γ)_/¯.
What is personal data anyhow? It’s data about you, but is it your friend, or your enemy? Often when it comes to personal data, a sense of dystopia can understandably prevail - we’re being spied on, manipulated, and our civil liberties are under threat. Meanwhile, services that collect data about us have become so useful and seemingly indispensable (and those Buzzfeed quizzes ain’t gonna do themselves).
In a world where it can often feel that things are constantly happening to us, how can we influence our own futures in a positive, active way?
It’s in this context that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) kicks into effect this Friday, 25 May 2018 - and it’s a game-changer for people living in the UK and Europe when it comes to their rights to privacy in the digital age and what they can actively do with data about themselves.
To help audiences explore the implications of this monumental intervention, Tomorrow’s World is launching “My Life, My Data, #MyTomorrow”, a campaign about people and communities shaping the future by taking control of the data they create. The campaign starts today and runs for the following week.
Using short films, interactive experiences, and conversations across social media, Tomorrow's World will help explain just how exciting and important personal data is.
Highlights of the “My Life, My Data, #MyTomorrow” campaign include:
“Future Values, or A Short Ride in an Intelligent Machine” Data about you is helping drive the development of artificial intelligence. “Future Values, or A Short Ride in an Intelligent Machine” which launches today on ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Taster, will send you into a “what if?” future built atop your own data. You’ll exchange banter with the artificial intelligence behind a driverless taxi, and discover the guiding principles that make up your own deepest values. Experience “Future Values, or A Short Ride in an Intelligent Machine". , the cutting edge conversational storytelling technology behind this pilot.
“My Life, My Data” A short film (5 minutes) hosted by Leila Johnston and Alex Lathbridge takes us on a fast-paced journey to explore what is personal data and how is it currently used. Brought to life with animations by Jamie Squire, the short film reminds us of the quid pro quo that comes with access digital services such as Facebook, Google and Instagram: nothing comes for free. .
“Instagram Chatbot” To illustrate the power of data about you and how it is driving the development of machine learning, our “Instagram Chatbot" will analyse your next Instagram post and compare it with thousands of others to estimate how people will react to it. The chatbot will then create a unique, personalised short video explaining why and to illustrate the power of personal data. .
“Donate Your Data Day” A short film (10 minutes) that imagines a not-to-distant future where we can donate data about ourselves en masse, using a click-to-donate button on our mobile phones. Galvanised around a gently satirical global 'Donate Your Data Day', the audience can decide what data to donate and who to donate it to, showing their support by becoming a data donor with their own Data Donor Card. .
Tomorrows World presenters Leila Johnston and Alex Lathbridge
“Meet the Personal Data Superheroes” A special episode of the Tomorrow’s World podcast explores the work of people making a difference when it comes to our data rights. Meanwhile, on social media, ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ presenters, journalists, and influencers - including Radio 1 Newsbeat’s Tina Daheley, CΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ’s Katie Thistleton and ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Click’s Spencer Kelly - discuss the importance of the data we're creating everyday. Listen here.
"How Do You Feel About Your Data? A Survey" - a timely research project from Tomorrow's World partners The Open University, on their new nQuire citizen science platform. How much personal information are you happy to share? What should companies be allowed to do with the data you create? Audiences can contribute to this short survey and give their views on data protection. .
The “My Life, My Data, #MyTomorrow” campaign will make you smile and think, and ask you to reconsider your preconceptions about the relationship between us, the data we create, and the companies, governments, and other organisations that use that data.
So what comes next?
This is just the beginning, and there's much more to do. People are recognising their rights and starting to take greater control of the data they create. They are actively helping create a future their grandchildren will want to live in. We can all join in.
Together, we're creating .
about the Tomorrow’s World partnership between Science Museum Group, Wellcome, The Open University, the Royal Society, and the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ.